Bai Tingyu's face looked a bit off, and his temples throbbed with irritation after being provoked.
He stood up and walked away directly.
Quan Jingyou called after him, "Brother Yu, you haven't eaten yet!"
However, Bai Tingyu didn't even respond to him.
Quan Jingyou sighed, fine, if he wasn't going to eat, then he would.
He picked up the chopsticks and started eating the food in front of him.
Gong Yu looked at Shen Zhiyi, who was still foolishly standing there, and said with a faint smile, "What are you waiting for? Aren't you leaving?"
Shen Zhiyi bit her lip, her gaze fleeting across Gong Yu's handsome face.
Although he was smiling, Shen Zhiyi could feel the mockery.
She lowered her head and turned to leave, thinking to herself that all these people would become her subordinates. It was just the beginning now, it didn't matter. Later on, she would definitely make them beg for her favor!
Thinking this, Shen Zhiyi felt much better.
Outside, Wei Nan regained his composure only after being in the sunlight.
Although he wanted to argue with Bai Tingyu at that moment, it wasn't meant to end their brotherhood!
After Ji Tian's meddling, wasn't their relationship as brothers now impossible?
He shrugged off Ji Tian's hand, even more upset, "Ji Tian, what are you doing? What do you think Brother Yu will think of me after you said those words!"
Having escaped from the main group, Ji Tian finally relaxed. She glanced at her foolish elder brother and thought, since someone had to manipulate the situation, why couldn't it be her!
As long as she manipulated well, Wei Nan would eventually see the light.
So Ji Tian pretended to be angry, "Elder brother! I feel so bad for you, look at how you act in front of him, bowing and scraping, you can't even stand up straight. In my eyes, you are a hero who shines light on my path ahead. I absolutely won't allow you to suffer even the slightest bullying!"
Wei Nan, initially still angry, was now completely deflated. He went from suspicious to uncertain to self-doubting...
Was he really as good as Ji Tian said? He had no idea.
Gradually, he felt somewhat embarrassed, "Sorry, I spoke too harshly to you just now."
Ji Tian wiped away imaginary tears from her eyes, speaking in an extremely cheesy teen slang, "Elder brother, it's okay, as long as you're fine, it doesn't matter what they think of me, I've got your back!"
Wei Nan's eyes moistened.
Don't ask, it was because he was moved.
"Little sister, don't worry, I won't grovel in front of Bai Tingyu anymore!"
Ji Tian's eyes were also brimming with tears, "That's great, you go on, I'm going to eat."
"..."
After saying this, Ji Tian turned and headed towards the back garden.
Luckily, she had the sense to pack her lunch.
This way, she wouldn't have to go hungry, hehe.
Wei Nan stood there, his stomach growling. He looked at the canteen, then at the academic building...
In the end, he was too ashamed to enter, so he chose to leave.
But his not-so-bright mind kept feeling that something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it...
Ji Tian, heading straight for the back garden, found Qin Jiangsheng's spot. Some goodwill needed to be established promptly, or there'd be no chance once the big villain disappeared.
She had read a comment summarizing, Qin Jiangsheng had been kidnapped and gone missing during his high school years, and when he came back five years later, he already had the power to contend with the Bai Family.
No one knew where he had been during those five years, the author was quite eccentric, probably had opened too big of a plot hole and just never filled it, simply summed it up in one sentence: he returned to take back everything that belonged to him.
Five years later coincided exactly with the downfall of the Ji Family, a timeline Ji Tian didn't need to ponder over— it was too much of a coincidence.
It seemed almost as if there were someone behind the scenes helping things along.
Ji Tian's sharp eyes spotted Qin Jiangsheng, sitting in his usual spot, facing the man-made lake with a lunchbox in his hands, nibbling away.
The little angel was truly beautiful.
Ji Tian once again marveled at Qin Jiangsheng's unparalleled beauty.
Then she walked up to him and sat across from him at the stone table, "Qin Jiangsheng."
It was that familiar voice again, blocking his view.
Qin Jiangsheng slightly pursed his lips, those familiar with him would know he was slightly displeased, but Ji Tian didn't know him well and even glanced at his lunchbox.
Inside were half-cooked rice, some bean sprouts, green vegetables, and a few slices of stir-fried pork with peppers—pitifully few.
He probably hadn't had the chance to eat it yet, having only consumed the bean sprouts and boiled vegetables.
Ji Tian knew his life had been tough, even the daily meals were miserable, reaching such a state that the bread he held yesterday was possibly the best thing he had, which he even fed to the birds. Qin Jiangsheng during his youth was a good person.
Even if not to curry favor, she felt it was unjust for the boy before her.
"What the hell is Bai Family thinking? How could they feed you these things? Are they going bankrupt or what?"
How could anyone be full from this?
Having experienced hunger in her childhood, Ji Tian knew how difficult it was to swallow half-cooked rice, yet Qin Jiangsheng had still eaten more than half of it.
Ji Tian snatched his lunchbox away, dumped the contents into a trash can, and poured half of her untouched food to him, "I haven't touched it; you eat this. The other stuff is inedible; it could upset your stomach."
Ji Tian placed the remaining half in front of herself. Suddenly, in Qin Jiangsheng, she saw her past self—unwanted by parents, living in an orphanage, sometimes not even full after meals, and bullied by older children. She had survived on sheer grit.
Seeing that he hadn't moved, Ji Tian took a bite, "Don't worry, it's clean and non-toxic."
Her meal looked visually appetizing—a cuisine he had never seen before. He stared into Ji Tian's eyes with his dark brown eyes, "What's your purpose in getting close to me?"
Due to rarely speaking, his voice was somewhat hoarse, but Ji Tian found it unexpectedly pleasant to hear. Moreover, the major villain's wariness was too high. For such an easy question, Ji Tian responded with a smile, "No purpose, because you are a good person, and good people deserve good things."
Good person?
Qin Jiangsheng slightly tilted his head.
His mother who abandoned him called him a freak.
His biological father labeled him tainted.
People from Black City A3 District feared and called him a devil.
For the first time, he heard from Ji Tian that he was a good person.
Watching Ji Tian's smile, he wickedly thought if she could still smile when she saw his true self. At that time, he definitely wanted to make her beg for death.
Qin Jiangsheng lowered his eyes and ate the meal Ji Tian gave him.
The difference from previous meals was that there was actually taste in his mouth.
Seeing him eat, Ji Tian also relaxed and began eating her portion, glad that he was no longer resisting her. It was a good sign!
She looked at his beautiful, indifferent profile and thought, maybe Qin Jiangsheng wasn't as difficult to deal with as rumored.
It's really just rumors!
In the afternoon, Ji Tian chose to attend the physics class and spent the rest of the time sleeping.
Ignoring the teacher's gaze.
After school, Uncle Zhou, in a rare instance, offered to treat her to spicy hot pot!
When there's good and free food, one doesn't refuse, so she followed Uncle Zhou to a snack street not far from the school, sitting by the roadside to enjoy a pot of spicy hot pot.
She sweated profusely from the heat; the snack street was so noisy that she missed many calls from Ji Qilin.